Sabino Canyon, Tucson, AZ

“Did you see the Saguaro in bloom?”, she said, “They usually don't bloom until April.” The question was directed to us at 3:00 in the afternoon as we reached the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center. We had been walking down the canyon since 11:30 that morning. “It's only about a 1/8 mile back up the trail.” For the past two days we had been hearing rumors and been looking for blooms at the tops of the gentle giants. I guess we missed our chance to see the one Saguaro in early bloom; both of us were dead tired, and Lou was just recovering from a bacterial infection--thank God for modern-day medicine.

On the plus side our walk down the canyon was delightful. The asphalt path ran adjacent to a gently-running stream fed by snow melt from nearby Mt. Lemmon. During the entire hike both sides of the canyon walls were lined with Saguaro reaching to the sky. We would stop occasionally on the gneiss slabs at stream's edge or along an intimate sandy beach to snack on an orange or nuts. Although rain was predicted, the day was picture perfect for hiking with sun and a gentle breeze blowing through the canyon.